Level 5 Sword This weapon has a large melee range and deploys and holsters slower No random critical hits-25 max health on wearerGives increased speed and health with every head you take.

“

You don’t kill a man by mucking about with rifles, arrows, rocks, or other long-distance rubbish. You kill him by grabbing the biggest bloody sword you can find, running up nice and close to him, and chopping the dumb bastard’s head off.

— Eyelander publicity blurb

”

The Eyelander is an unlockable melee weapon for the Demoman. It is a large bloodstained and battle-worn claymore reputed to be haunted by a bloodthirsty, malevolent spirit. As such, the blade will occasionally mutter the word "heads" when held.

Along with having a longer range than most melee weapons, the Eyelander reduces the wielder's health by 25, resulting in a total of 150 base health points. It also cannot deal random critical hits, forcing players to rely on the Chargin' Targe, Splendid Screen, or Tide Turner's special ability or a crit boost to deliver any critical hits.

The main benefit of the weapon is that it will decapitate enemies upon a kill, and doing so will increase the Demoman's base speed by 8% and base health by 15, as well as healing the Demoman for 15 health. This bonus will continue with each beheading until the player has collected a maximum of 4 heads, at which point the Demoman's speed will be capped at 370 Hammer units per second, slightly slower than a Scout, and health will be capped at 210. At this point, collecting another head will only provide the healing. If this healing puts the Demoman over his maximum health, it will be gained as overheal.

Collecting up to 5 heads will also increase the damage a Demoman deals when using the Chargin' Targe, Splendid Screen or Tide Turner's charge attack; an additional 10% is added to the base damage of the charge for each head. The number of heads taken is shown in the HUD. Collected heads are retained as long as the Demoman is alive, and do not carry over to his next life. Cutting off an opponent's head also has a cosmetic effect; the Demoman's eyepatch will glow unremarkably after taking only one head, but as he takes up to four heads, the eye becomes brighter and brighter.

Speed

Speed values are based on the number of heads taken. For reference, the standard movement speed is 100%, which is 300 hammer units per second—the speed of the Sniper, Engineer, and Pyro—whilst the Scout moves at 400 units per second, 33% above the standard movement speed.

As a crafting ingredient

Strange variant

Strange Variant Information

Strange Eyelander

Strange Sword - Heads Taken: 0 This weapon has a large melee range and deploys and holsters slower No random critical hits-25 max health on wearerGives increased speed and health with every head you take.

Only the first statistic counts towards the strange rank.
Available as a Strange Festive variant.

Available as an Australium variant.
Notes: Only kills with the strange Eyelander count as heads taken. Heads from other Demomen, Soldiers, or Snipers do not add to the count.

Trivia

The name "Eyelander" is a portmanteau on the word "Highlander", the name given to inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands, where the Demoman's hometown of Ullapool is located (And also eye which is referencing his eye being lost).Additionally, the name and function of The Eyelander bears a similarity to the movie Highlander, where immortal humans could gain another immortal's power by decapitating them in a sword fight.

The decapitation animation of the Eyelander's victims does not actually separate the head from the model of the victim, instead shrinking the head so small it cannot be easily seen and spawning a head gib where their head once was to create the illusion of decapitation. This explains why decapitated ragdolls have a 'pinched' looking neck. A severed neck model for the Soldier is in the game files but neither it nor any other models have been implemented as of yet. This severed neck model was intended to be used for the WAR! Update for Soldiers who were decapitated by Demomen, but the implementation of the model and its needed code failed to meet the deadline of the updates shipping.

This applies to all weapons that decapitate enemies.

In the comic Ring of Fired, the ghost that haunts the Eyelander is shown to be fully sentient, and capable of speaking fluent English.

The Eyelander is similar to William Wallace's sword in the movie "Braveheart".